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New app designed to help homeless students now active in Nevada

Purposity
Purposity

Purposity

Most people would be willing to help as long as they knew their help was actually making a difference.

That’s the basis for a new app called Purposity, created to help homeless students, and it's now available in Nevada. 

There are as many as 13,000 Clark County students who are considered homeless or housing insecure. 

Sponsor Message

"Purposity" is a combination of the words “purpose and generosity.” App founder Blake Canterbury said he was inspired to create the app after he visited a third world country following a disaster. He said Purposity uses technology to help students in need. 

"As you scroll through, maybe a first grader walked into a classroom with holes in their shoes. You can read their story, the school has vetted it. And if you want to help, you hit one button. You check out with Apple Pay or credit card and it arrives between 24 and 48 hours," said Canterburry.

The donor will get a notification in real time when the item has been delivered. 

"And then you get this dopamine hit for good and you realize that what you just did for this kid has arrived on their doorstep," Canterburry said.

Purposity is being used in school districts in more than 30 states, now trying to scale up nationwide.

Yvette Fernandez is the regional reporter for the Mountain West News Bureau. She joined Nevada Public Radio in September 2021.